laonglaan1989 comments

Photography is a form of art and just like any practitioner of any artistic field, a photographer consistently utilize artistic license as he/she sees fit.

Artistic license is entirely at the artist's discretion. It is intended to be tolerated by the viewer by a willing suspension of disbelief. It is useful for filling in gaps, whether they be factual, compositional, historical or other gaps. And it is used consciously or unconsciously, intentionally or unintentionally or in tandem.

I recognize the seriousness of Naoya Tomita's misdeed. It was aggravated by the fact that he is a national representative of Japan to an international event. His lapses in judgment, however small they may be, cannot be depreciated because of the attendant special circumstances.

But I strongly believe, with all due respect to the code of conduct of the Japanese Olympic Committee and the traditional values of the Japanese nation, that Naoya Tomita should still be accorded with respect and dignity as a Japanese citizen even though he did not expressed those values himself based on his misdeed. I would like to share my opinion that it should be enough that the Japanese Olympic Committee have already condemned his actions. I keep the faith that any wrong action should be condemned in strongest possible terms. But I dearly hold that the doer should be spared with the worst of any denunciation.

I understand that it is very difficult, if not almost impossible, to isolate the doer with his own act. But as we vehemently censure the act, at the same time, we should be compassionate with the person behind the act. Surely he deserves to be expelled as a national representative but to tell him that he would have to pay for his ticket back to Japan when he leaves is already supererogatory. The expulsion will only incur removal of his privileges as a national athlete but not as a Japanese citizen.

I strongly recommend that the Japanese Olympic Committee should seriously consider inquiring further about the matter especially since we are dealing with a very talented athlete. His misdeed is not even related to his official designation as a national athlete. He could still probably play the game well but he may have relevant issues that he also need to deal with at the same time. He may have triggered the commencement of the end of his sports career but we have the choice not to definitively conclude it. We also have the extraordinary power not to initiate a cessation of any hope he may have, how little it may be.